Nasa working with Richard Garriott to release first sci-fi film shot in space

In 2008, game designer and space tourist Richard Garriott made the first ever science fiction movie
filmed in space: Apogee of Fear. Nasa has so far kept the
film from being released, but it seems that agency has since
relented, and the video will go public.

Garriott -- also known by his online alter ego Lord British, and
the creator of PC game Ultima -- paid $30 million (£19.4
million) of his own money to take a trip on the International Space Station. He was there to make a documentary
about his trip, called Man on a
Mission. The film's out now.

But while he was up there he took some time to film a light
hearted and comedic science fiction film using a screenplay written
by Tracy Hickman (co-creator of the Dragonlance universe),
and with a trio of ISS astronauts as his cast.

The eight-minute short has astronauts juggling, arguing,
debating the possibility of aliens and wondering why their oxygen
supply is low. There's a final twist ending, but we won't spoil it
for you.

The space agency refused to release it. "Nasa has, so far,
decided that since its filmed onboard Nasa hardware and uses Nasa
astronauts as actors, that they have resisted me releasing it
publicly," Garriott toldSpace.com.

"It's too playful," he said, when asked to speculate on Nasa's
reason for disallowing the film's release. "It's just not their
message."

But, it looks like Nasa has changed its mind. In response to a
query from Wired, Bob Jacobs, deputy for communications, said
"Nasa is working with Richard Garriott to facilitate the video's
release. While the project was not part of his original Space Act
agreement with Nasa, everyone involved had the best of
intentions.

"We hope to resolve the remaining issues expeditiously, and we
appreciate Richard's cooperation and his ongoing efforts to get
people excited about the future of space exploration."

If you can't wait, you can watch a slightly blurry, off-screen
recording of the film on YouTube. Garriott showed the
unauthorised flick to a small group at Dragon*Con 2011 -- though
with the Nasa logo cheekily replaced with a fictional "Nasda"
one.